All the municipalities in the province of Malaga, whatever size they might be, are linked both to Malaga City and to each other by means of a large bus network. Some are connected by train.

The main Malaga bus station is in the Paseo de los Tilos, beside the Renfe railway station, and all the bus companies operating in the province use it. There is also a smaller bus station on the Avenida de Muella Heredia, beside the port, which is used by busses heading for the various urban centres in the greater Malaga area. 

The Western Costa del Sol, from Malaga to Manilva, is served by the Portillo bus company, whose official name is ‘Autobuses Portillo S.A.,’ although its busses operate into the province of Cádiz. Alsina Graells is the company serving the Eastern Costa del Sol as far as Almería, and its busses connect Malaga City with the provincial Andalusian capitals of Seville, Granada, Córdoba and so on. These busses generally run on time, any occasional delays being caused by unusually heavy traffic on certain days of the year. 

One also has the limited option of rail travel in Malaga province, with two local lines named the C-1 and C-2. The first operates in the western part of the Costa del Sol and the second in the interior of the province. Journeys do not exceed 30 kilometres, and being independent of road traffic, they invariably arrive and leave on time. These trains are modern and comfortable, with air conditioning and piped music.

The C-1 line runs from the Malaga-Renfe station, although in the interests of convenience, there is a link-line to the Centro-Alameda station in the historic centre of the city, beside the Guadalmedina River and the Alameda Principal. It stops at the stations of San Andrés, Guadalhorce, Aeropuerto San Julián (Malaga Airport), Plaza Mayor, Los Álamos, La Colina, Torremolinos, Montemar Alto, El Pinillo, Benalmádena-Arroyo de la Miel, Torremuelle, Carvajal, Torreblanca, Los Boliches and Fuengirola, thus covering the entire coast between Malaga City and Fuengirola. The full journey takes 45 minutes. The trains begin to run at 5.45 a.m. from Malaga City and at 6.30 from Fuengirola, and there is a train every 30 minutes. 

The C-2 line runs from Malaga City to Álora, with stops at Los Pardos, Campanillas and Cártama, the main towns of the Guadalhorce Valley. The trip takes 35 minutes. This service begins at 6 a.m. from the city and 6.45 from Álora. There is no exact timetable, but a train runs every hour to two hours, approximately. A total of eleven trains run in each direction every day.

It might be useful to know that the Renfe station in the Explanada de la Estación, close to the city centre, is now being renovated for the new AVE trains in 2007. This means that the present entrance is in calle Héroe de Sosota, which is on the corner of the Explanada de la Estación, about 100 metres from the old entrance.